The Epworth League Album 28, Another Parade Picture

This is what I don't get. Sons of veterans? Why not actual veterans? Let's say this album was compiled in 1910, give or take a year or two. The Civil War would have ended about 45 years earlier. There would have been plenty of Civil War veterans still around. The Spanish American war would have been over for about a decade.

Big Announcement!

Well, not that big. I've pushed a bit beyond my all photos or photo based images rule for The New Found Photography a few times. Ephemera that was part of a bigger collection, hand tinted postcards, and I've thrown out doubts on things that look like photos but could have been illustrations. Should I just expand things and start adding non photo postcards, and commercial illustration? It's not like I can start another blog with what little I've got in my collection. There just isn't enough stuff to make it viable.

But I do have another collection that might fit the bill. A digital collection. One of the things about being underemployed is that I've got lots of time to surf the web, and when I find something that I like, it's right click save, and another few bytes of storage space on the hard drive. So that's it. Another blog that combines stuff sitting in my apartment and stuff I've found on line.

So what sort of imagery can be found at http://www.fairuse-wjy.blogspot.com/ ? Well, my interests run from demolition derby to German expressionism; Silent moves, to fifties sci-fi, to Stan Brakhage; vintage watches, travel trailers, ocean liners, and cameras. Lots of stuff. And because I'm a history buff, I've also saved a few pretty repulsive images as well, and since I think it's better to look, rather than look away, well, be forewarned.

I've started with ten images. Unlike The New Found Photography, I'm not going to add any commentary. As Joe Friday used to say, "Just the facts, Ma'am." I'm also going to limit the number of posts I put up. I'll try and do at least one a week, but no more than three. And why Fair Use? Well, it's only a matter of time before I violate a copyright. With luck the fair use principal will shield me from law suits. And if not, so sue me. I'm broke so you won't get anything anyway. And did I mention that it would be nice if I'm not just doing this for my own amusement. Once again, it's www.fairuse-wjy.blogspot.com

Running In the Snow

I think it's the same little girl. In any case I found them together. Judging by the cars it looks like these are from the mid to late thirties. It makes one wonder how this girl and her family did during the depression. A lot of people ended up loosing everything in that decade, but many others survived with their lives barely changed. And after those years, a world war. Perhaps her father or an older brother fought, and perhaps died.

Lady Hobos

Yes, I know. They're not actually hobos. The Erie Railroad was chartered in 1832 as the New York & Erie Railroad to build a line from New York City to Dunkirk, NY, on Lake Erie. Construction began in 1836 and finally reached Lake Erie in 1851. The line would change it's name to the New York, Erie and Western Railroad as it built lines that would eventually reach as far west as Chicago. In 1895 it, once again, was renamed as the Lake Erie Railroad. In 1960 it merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and became the Erie & Lackawanna Railroad. So we can know that this picture was taken after 1895. Hey, it's something. More info can be found on the often unreliable Wikipedia.

The Golden Gate Casino

I take a look at a half dozen or so other blogs on a fairly regular basis. A week or so ago, in the comments section of one of those blogs, the question was asked, "What do people see in Vegas?" Since I was blocked from weighing in with my own comment, I thought I'd answer that question here.

We go to Vegas to sin in safety. There aren't many communities in the United States were you can't find a card game, and if you get mixed up with the wrong people, get in trouble. Unable to pay off a bet in some back room and you might get your knee caps broken. In Las Vegas, you buy chips up front, either in cash or on a credit card, and that's it. If you can't pay Visa, you might get sued and your spouse may kick you out of the house, but you won't see the inside of a hospital room. Want to get drunk? In Las Vegas, the helpful casino staff will help you back to your room and clean up the mess. And as long as you don't get violent or try and drive, the LVPD are more likely to call you a cab than take you to the drunk tank. Want to get laid? Well, there are plenty of other people looking for a hook-up wandering the casino floor, and if that doesn't work, prostitution is against the law in Clark County, but out call services are common and as long as she (or he) doesn't stay past check-out, it will be over looked. Still worried about breaking the law? Well there's always the shuttle to Nye County and a legal bordello. And if you should run into a friend, family member, boss or employee, they're probably doing the same thing you are. We go to Las Vegas because it's the Disneyland of mischief.

This postcard was mailed from Canoga Park, California on April 5, 1967. It was addressed to Mr. Loppy Clark, Rich Hill, MO, 64799. And the message, "Hi, I'm Broke. Will be home in a few days. Marion."

The Epworth League Album 27, Our New Home

This is one of my favorite photographs in this album and the reason I'm convinced that it isn't a collection about a trip to California, but about a new home on the west coast. There aren't many of these houses left, built before World War 1, and part of one of the first big building booms in the Los Angeles area, but some survive and if this one does, I'd love to find it.

The Epworth League Album 26, Finally The Epworth League

I was intrigued by this album because it seems to show the migration of one family from the mid-west to southern California at a time in history when the Los Angeles area was going through one of it's first major expansions. I was also irritated by it because there is not a single caption of any kind. Well, this image is as close as I'll get to an actual written clue. The badge on the front of the car is the logo of The Epworth League. The league was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1889 as an organization within the Methodist Church for members from ages 18 to 35 in order to promote "intelligent and vital piety among the young people of the church." The league is named for Epworth, England, home town of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church. But was the owner of this album an Epworthian, (Epworthite? Epworther?) or did they just think it was nice looking float at the Rose Parade.